The invention relates to a ski boot in which a leg portion of the boot is coupled for pivoting or articulation with the boot upper, and to a process for manufacturing.
Ski boots are known in the art in which the leg is articulatedly coupled to the upper. The articulation joint on each side of the boot at the ankle is composed of a pair of bosses applied to the interior and exterior sides of the boot in proximity to the malleoli, and riveted to the upper.
A disadvantage of these known boots is the fact that the articulation bosses are not located exactly in alignment with the malleoli in order not to create disadvantages to the skier. Consequently, the articulation axis of the ski boot leg relative to the upper and the articulation axis of the human leg relative to the foot do not properly coincide, and this latter articulation is therefore rendered difficult and awkward.
A further disadvantage of the prior art is the fact that even though the bosses are displaced from the malleoli, the internal padding of the boot at the malleoli must necessarily be of reduced thickness in order not to give rise to an excessive transverse dimension of the boot, with the consequent impossibility of maintaining the skis in parallel side-by-side relation.
A further disadvantage is that, after prolonged usage, the bosses disposed inside of the boot cut and damage the interior padding, and because of the lesser padding thickness at the malleoli, the bosses can injure the skier's foot.
A final disadvantage, concerned with their manufacture, is that complex operations are required for attaching the leg of the boot to the upper, which can only be carried out in a factory by skilled personnel, and thus considerably increase the final cost of the boot.
According to the present invention all of the above disadvantages of the prior art are eliminated through the provision of a ski boot with its leg portion articulatedly coupled to its upper, wherein the upper is provided with a pair of mushroom-like appendages, bosses or trunnions on its opposite sides engaging pivotally into corresponding holes formed in the leg of the boot.
The boot upper, according to the invention, is constructed using conventional injection molding means by injecting a synthetic fluid material into a mold cavity, the lateral elements of which comprise impressions having cavities complementary to the mushroom-like appendages and arranged to form, joined together, the two front sides of the upper, then awaiting solidification of the material and, shortly before the latter is complete, forcibly withdrawing the two lateral elements of the mold, then separating the two front sides of the upper by cutting, and finally extracting an inner form, the leg portion being manufactured separately by conventional techniques.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.